Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HR2402 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.R. No. 2402
2	2
3	3
4	4	R E S O L U T I O N
5	5	WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced the
6	6	2023 appointments for State Poet Laureate, State Musician, State
7	7	Two-Dimensional Artist, and State Three-Dimensional Artist; and
8	8	WHEREAS, The state's highest accolade for excellence in the
9	9	arts, designation as a Texas State Artist is conferred on those
10	10	individuals who represent the best of our rich and diverse artistic
11	11	community and who inspire others through their unique creative
12	12	expression; and
13	13	WHEREAS, The 2023 State Poet Laureate is ire'ne Lara Silva;
14	14	she is the author of two full-length poetry collections, furia and
15	15	Blood Sugar Canto, that were both finalists for the International
16	16	Latino Book Award in Poetry; her most recent poetry collection,
17	17	CUICACALLI/House of Song, was a finalist for the Texas Institute of
18	18	Letters Poetry Prize, and she has also published three chapbooks
19	19	and a short story collection, flesh to bone, that won the 2013
20	20	Premio Aztlan and was named a runner-up for the 2014 NACCS Tejas
21	21	Foco Award in Fiction; the recipient of a number of grants and
22	22	literary awards, she had the distinction of being inducted as a
23	23	member of the Texas Institute of Letters in 2020; her poetry, short
24	24	stories, and essays have appeared in more than 70 journals and
25	25	anthologies, and she currently serves as a writer at large for Texas
26	26	Highways magazine; and
27	27	WHEREAS, Gary Clark Jr., the 2023 State Musician, achieved
28	28	critical acclaim with his debut album Blak and Blu, where he
29	29	introduced his brand of blues rock that would gradually transform
30	30	into a fusion of contemporary funk, rock, and hip hop; the
31	31	Austin-born singer-songwriter won a Grammy Award for his top-10 hit
32	32	"Please Come Home," and he later scored three more Grammy wins,
33	33	including Best Contemporary Blues Album, for his politically
34	34	charged fifth studio album This Land and its title track; he has
35	35	earned a reputation as a soulful live performer, and in addition to
36	36	touring with the Rolling Stones and the Foo Fighters and
37	37	collaborating with recording artists like Alicia Keys and Childish
38	38	Gambino, he has played alongside Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, and other
39	39	well-known musicians for tributes to Stevie Wonder and the Beatles;
40	40	and
41	41	WHEREAS, Painter Gaspar Enriquez is the 2023 State
42	42	Two-Dimensional Artist; after growing up in El Paso's Segundo
43	43	Barrio, he made his living as an art educator while developing a
44	44	body of work primarily composed of acrylic, air-brushed portraits
45	45	of individuals who typify the Chicano community in which he was
46	46	raised; his paintings have been featured at the El Paso Museum of
47	47	Art, the Tucson Museum of Art, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library,
48	48	the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and the San Antonio Convention
49	49	Center, where he was commissioned to paint a 24-foot-tall piece
50	50	titled cholos; he has had a profound impact on many students
51	51	throughout his career as an educator, and he has been an inspiration
52	52	for nationally recognized artists such as Vincent Valdez and Alex
53	53	Rubio; and
54	54	WHEREAS, James C. Watkins, who has been exhibiting his work
55	55	as a ceramic artist for over four decades, has been named the 2023
56	56	State Three-Dimensional Artist; best known for his large,
57	57	double-walled stoneware vessels, he has experimented with
58	58	alternative firing techniques to craft black pottery with varying
59	59	tones and depth; his work is represented in a number of notable
60	60	collections, including the White House Collection of American
61	61	Crafts at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in
62	62	Little Rock, Arkansas, the Shigaraki Institute of Ceramic Studies
63	63	in Japan, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; he
64	64	was named a Horn Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Texas Tech
65	65	University, and he has received the Texas Tech President's
66	66	Excellence in Teaching Award; and
67	67	WHEREAS, The artists who have been selected to hold these
68	68	prestigious posts have all greatly contributed to the vibrant
69	69	cultural life of the Lone Star State, and Texas is indeed fortunate
70	70	to be home to these talented individuals; now, therefore, be it
71	71	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
72	72	Legislature hereby congratulate the 2023 Texas Commission on the
73	73	Arts honorees and extend to them sincere best wishes for continued
74	74	fulfillment in their creative endeavors.
75	75	Ashby
76	76	______________________________
77	77	Speaker of the House
78	78	I certify that H.R. No. 2402 was adopted by the House on May
79	79	29, 2023, by a non-record vote.
80	80	______________________________
81	81	Chief Clerk of the House